


Something Loved, Something Despised

by brevitas



Series: Learn to Howl [4]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Modern AU, Vampire AU, Werewolf AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 07:32:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/859522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brevitas/pseuds/brevitas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The vampires discuss how they want to out themselves to the humans and Grantaire sits in; they're interrupted halfway through by Courfeyrac who shows them somebody has beaten them to the punch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Loved, Something Despised

The vampires convene in the foyer once they've shed their baggage and Enjolras asks if Grantaire would mind sitting with them. He's somewhat confused by the request as he'd expected quite the opposite (he assumed the vampires would want to discuss something in private and he'd be asked to step outside) but he generously accepts the invitation and sits next to the curly-haired woman with the gold eyes.

"Perhaps we should start by exchanging names," Enjolras suggests, seated opposite them. He looks at ease surrounded by his coven, his alabaster hands loosely folded in his lap.

They decide to go one by one and introduce themselves, starting with the lady Grantaire's sitting next to. "Musichetta," she says with a polite smile, her warm metallic gaze glinting. She's exceptionally pretty with dark skin that complements her eyes beautifully.

To her right comes a distracted, "Joly." He's the blonde with the huge pupils, the one Grantaire recognizes as being young by how he holds himself. Vampires have heightened reflexes and he still moves as if he's unaware of this, his fingers blurring when he anxiously tucks his hair behind his ear. He uses a cane though Grantaire can't imagine what he needs it for.

Next is the muscular, "Bahorel," with a nose that's been broken enough times to make it permanently crooked and one of those floppy black mohawks with the shaved sides. He grins and flashes fangs that are clearly engorged and Grantaire wonders what's piquing his hunger (it doesn't occur to him that it may be the heady scent of his wolves). His eyes are sea-green and get greener the closer they come to the pupil.

"Jehan," says the one next to him, smiling pleasantly. He has dark purple eyes and honeysuckle hair that looks to be wrapped up in a bun at the nape of his neck. There's a pale pink bud pinned to it but Grantaire has never had a taste for flowers and can't conjure a name for the bloom.

Another blonde is curled up next to him, the second woman of the group. She's the one Grantaire knows is old for the exact opposite of how he identified Joly as young. Demurely she says, "Cosette," but her pale green eyes seem mischievous. She and Jehan look to be quite a pair and curious, Grantaire subtly parts his mouth to taste the air; from their individual scents he's satisfied they're nothing more than friends.

The last one is the man Enjolras had been so happy to see, the vampire with the vintage glasses and the dark hazel eyes. He smiles when he says, "Combeferre." Grantaire tries not to pay an overt amount of attention to the pair though he somehow ends up staring at them anyway.

"So," Bahorel says, slinging his arm across the back of the couch. "Is this wolf yours, Enjolras?"

Enjolras blinks and says immediately, "No," but he sounds almost nervous and he's answered far too quickly. A few of the vampires laugh and Grantaire bristles, sitting up.

"I'm not anybody's," he says hotly, the comment triggering his dominance. Had these been other wolves he might have interpreted that as a challenge and has to stifle his urge to tackle Bahorel to the ground to conquer him.

"We didn't mean it like that," Musichetta remarks sweetly and the calm tone she speaks with softens his anger. "It is simply that usually we only drink from those that we consider 'ours'."

Grantaire looks blankly at her for a moment then brightens and says, "Oh, you mean when he drank my blood?" He flippantly waves a hand and says, "It's not like that. He was just patching up a cut."

"Ah," Cosette says, sharing a teasing smile with Jehan. "We see."

Enjolras colors and clears his throat and Grantaire looks curiously at him, his nose twitching as he inhales the smells. It's strange but Enjolras is clearly embarrassed about something and Grantaire wonders if he's insulted they assumed he'd take a wolf as whatever it was they considered those they fed from (it's probably something clever, knowing vampires. Off the top of his head Grantaire is giving 'blood bank' a lot of thought).

They begin to discuss what they've done to further the cause and this Grantaire is interested in; he listens to them with a slight smile, his eyes continuously shifting to Enjolras as the afternoon wears on. It's him that's most fascinating to watch for when he talks about this he becomes excited as if with fever, his hands fluttering as he talks.

He has many ideas about the big reveal and suggests again they do it live on television, sparing a glance for Grantaire for he knows he disagrees. Grantaire waggles an eyebrow but doesn't complain, merely turning to the other vampires as they respond.

Combeferre is the first to say, "I'm not sure that's the best idea," though he poses his disagreement in a way much kinder than Grantaire had. "It may turn dangerous if they react negatively and it would not serve our cause to have to fight our way out."

"Yeah," Bahorel puts in, digging a cigarette out of his pocket. He lights it and tucks it behind one fang, exhaling through his mouth as he speaks. "I can't imagine slaughtering people will paint us in a very pretty light."

Enjolras looks pointedly at Grantaire again and the werewolf chuckles, translating the stare for what it means-- _speak_. "I believe we should approach newspapers," he suggests, "Online blogs and such. We would not have to meet in person and I think it would be safer for everyone overall."

"The wolves are working with us on this?" Cosette asks pleasantly, and Enjolras curtly nods. No one else says anything on it although they share some cursory glances--wolves have been the vampire's natural-born enemies for generations and the mistrust is almost innate now. It is very like Enjolras to be inclined towards breaking such superstitions though his coven struggles to adapt so quickly to considering the pack friends.

"When do you think we should start?" Grantaire asks them at large, ignoring their indecipherable looks.

Enjolras smiles and says, "Actually I have some thoughts on that," but is cut off before he has the chance to start explaining.

"Guys?" Courfeyrac calls from the other room and Grantaire reacts immediately to the open concern in his beta's voice, his muscles tensing. "You might wanna come see this--it's kinda a wrench in those plans of yours."

It's no surprise that Courfeyrac has been listening in on their conversation and honestly Grantaire had not even thought to warn the vampires of it; he hides nothing from his beta, especially when it comes to political problems such as these, and as a werewolf he naturally has acute hearing. He's been eavesdropping since they sat down, flipping through the channels when he lost interest in their gossip.

But now something else has come on and he knows they'll want to see it for themselves; when Grantaire stands but the vampires hesitate Courfeyrac shouts, "C'mon, guys, this is like _earth-shattering_. Get out here."

Grantaire looks at the seated vampires and snorts. "He's not lying," he says as he leaves the room. "Whatever it is, it's important."

That works for Enjolras who is quick to follow at Grantaire's heels and seeing their good friend vouch for the legitimacy encourages everyone else. The vampires file into the entertainment room where Courfeyrac is seated on the couch, the remote clenched in one hand.

"Listen to this bullshit," he says angrily and thumbs the volume up.

The screen depicts a newswoman in a room somewhere, hurriedly organizing notes and fighting to talk over what sounds like general chaos around her. People keep walking behind her chair and they look to be in a hurry, some appearing openly frightened. She raises her voice after someone comes and whispers something in her ear, probably telling her that the viewers can't hear a word she's saying.

"For those of you just tuning in we were in the middle of an interview with actor Colton Bartlett when he informed us of him being a _vampire_." She enunciates the last word carefully, putting her papers down and smoothing out the edges. "Here is a replay of his 'evidence'."

She signals to a man they can't see and a video replaces her. It's the exact same news room except the camera's pulled out, showing her and another man seated in two chairs that are turned predominantly towards one another. The man looks pleasant and she's awkwardly smiling; Grantaire assumes this is right after he said on live television that he was a vampire.

"If you'll forgive me for the doubt," she says, abandoning the interview questions in favor of this new topic. "Do you have any proof of this allegation?"

She thinks it's a joke, from the way she's talking and how she fights to hide a smile when she straightens her microphone. The man smiles and says kindly, "I do indeed, Melissa. I will need someone to assist me however." He stands and before the video progresses any further a warning fills the screen--it reads 'THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES' in boldface lettering.

When the text leaves the video resumes and it shows Colton gesturing for a cameraman; after a moment of confusion a young man walks up to him, dressed casually enough that he looks somewhat out-of-place between the actor and the reporter.

"Here is the proof you so want," Colton says charmingly and in a single fluid motion, much too fast for even the camera to track, he sinks his teeth into the employee's throat. The man begins bucking immediately, thrashing as though he's a fish in a net but vampires are notoriously strong; Colton tightens his arm across the man's chest and it acts as a vice, clamping down on his wild movements.

Everyone else seems slow to understand what's happening as there's a period of five seconds where there is only stunned silence and the lewd sound of Colton swallowing blood; and then suddenly there's screaming and a man comes on screen wielding a pistol, his hands shaking but his face set.

"Let him go!" He shouts and Colton looks up at him, his pupils blown so wide they've swallowed his irises. He lurches as if to attack and the armed man yells, rapidly emptying his gun into his chest. Colton stumbles and falls to his knees and the employee fumbles to reload. Vampires require a headshot to be officially killed and whether the man knows his modern lore or is just desperate to put Colton down the next bullet goes to his brain.

He sags backwards and falls bonelessly to the floor, the cameraman he'd attacked bleached white and dead himself. There is a cacophony of noise now, people screaming and someone close to a microphone somewhere babbling to a 911 operator about vampires, and all of it vanishes when the news switches back to live.

Melissa is looking less traumatized now, though her eyes are glassy and she wets her bottom lip an unnecessary amount of times. "As you can see," she begins, her voice level, "Colton was deranged."

"Oh thank god," Jehan breathes behind Grantaire, Cosette clutching his hand. "They don't believe it."

"He has been pronounced dead by a team of EMTs and we'll do our best to keep you up to--" "Fuck, fuck, fuck," someone screeches and the camera turns, zooming in on Colton's body. Two EMTs stumble back from him and suddenly his body is enveloped in a light that seems to be emitted from under his skin. He's burning from the inside out, fire kindling in his stomach and charring his ribs and within a minute he is nothing but ashes.

"Fucking _Christ_ ," Bahorel says with a shake of his head. "Of course they couldn't have gotten his body outta there fast enough."

Among both vampires and werewolves it is common knowledge how the other dies; the vampires burn, as was just evidenced, until their bodies are reduced to ashes and the werewolves are forcefully changed into perfectly normal-looking wolves, the human color of their eyes bleaching to a mundane brown. It has kept them in secrecy for years but it's never been caught on tape like this, not when thousands of people are huddled around their screens watching with bated breath.

Grantaire glances at Enjolras but he says nothing, his jaw clenched under the shadow of his golden hair. He turns back to the tv when Melissa starts talking again, her voice noticeably uneven. "We, um, we have no explanation for what has just occurred," she says, striving to sound collected and failing. "We can only assume he had some sort of weapon on him that was programmed to go off upon his death."

Even she looks doubtful and she looks behind the camera for a moment, frowning. "We will give you more details as soon as we have them," she assures the audience. "Until then we're going to Nancy in New York City where she's planning to speak with Neil Goldberg about the recent filming he's been doing. Nancy?"

Courfeyrac mutes the television and swivels to see them, raising his eyebrows. "Do you think they're just gonna let it go?" He asks hopefully and Enjolras looks down at both the wolves with a grim frown.

"No," he says, "I don't believe they will."

**Author's Note:**

> requested by three anons, ramblingmaenad and ishipeveryone :)
> 
> title from Anne Rice's Lestat: "I will be the Vampire Lestat for all to see. A symbol, a freak of nature - something loved, something despised all of those things. I tell you I can’t give it up. I can’t miss. And quite frankly I am not in the least afraid."
> 
> okay so this chapter was a wee bit boring but unfortunately somewhat of a necessary evil; I needed to do this whole scene so I can get to the exciting shit next chapter! :) hope you guys all enjoy anyway
> 
> on a plus side we've finally met all the amis and their ladies, yay c:
> 
> tumblr is idfaciendumest all of you guys are awesome!  
> p.s. don't forget to request things on my tumblr :D


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